Police are investigating after a 48-year-old Aurora man died following a skiing accident at Blue Mountain Resort on New Year’s Day.

Alex Mayer, 16, of Markham, is shown in a family photo taken in August. tHE Markville Secondary School student died after sustaining a head injury at an Uxbridge ski resort on Dec. 28. Meanwhile, a 48-year-old Aurora man died after a skiing accident at Blue Mountain Resort near Collingwood on New Year's Day.

By:Dylan C. RobertsonStaff Reporter, Published on Wed Jan 02 2013

Police are investigating after a 48-year-old Aurora man died following a skiing accident at Blue Mountain Resort on New Year’s Day.

Emergency crews were called to the ski resort near Collingwood around 1 p.m. Tuesday after a report that the man had been injured on the Tranquility trail.

Nearby skiers and staff witnessed the accident and assisted the man, who was brought down the hill to a waiting ambulance. He was sent to Collingwood General and Marine Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

The Tranquility trail is a hill for intermediate skiers, which the resort rates as the second most challenging out of four main slopes. The hill was closed after the accident for an investigation.

“Fatalities are rare at ski resorts; they don’t occur frequently but when they do it obviously impacts everyone involved,” said resort spokesperson Collin Matanowitsch. “We’re saddened by the news, and our sympathy goes out to the family at this time.”

Four days earlier, 16-year-old Alexander Mayer of Markham died after sustaining a serious head injury while skiing at Lakeridge Ski Resort in Uxbridge.

In a statement, Mayer’s family remembered the Markville Secondary School student as an active, energetic young man who built remote-controlled airplanes and cycled when he wasn’t working at a local hobby shop.

“Alex had a heart of gold under his tough exterior. He always sought adventure,” said his mother, Joanne Mayer. “Alex and his brother were very close and his loss is especially hard on his brother.”

His father Tim Mayer remembered him for the hours they spent together designing and flying model airplanes.

“I’m still amazed at how he could look past the hours of work lost in 10 seconds of flight,” he said.

“Alex was a remarkable young man who valued his family, friends and hobbies — and it’s hard to imagine life without him.”